It Begins Here part 2
I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. Romans 7:7
To begin this article I want to lay some groundwork before launching into the main point.
In It Begins Here - part 1, the providence of God was evident throughout the story. Just as evident is the essentiality and power of the Word. It could be said that this real-life story was an extended illustration of this particular Truth.
We saw the Law of God cutting through the most curated religious facade. This story gave testimony to Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
Extraordinary Salvation
Let me hasten to say at this point, every salvation is extraordinary, equally so. Simply put, people who were once dead in sin are raised to life in Christ. That is extraordinary! Regardless of a person's temporal circumstances, rich or poor, noble or common, educated or ignorant, male or female, young or old, salvation is wholly a work of Yahweh.
As such, His work in the lives of people does not require more or less effort on His part because of people's circumstantial disposition. Therefore, one person's salvation is not more extraordinary than another.
The story of this young pastor on the surface perhaps seems exceptional because we naturally assume a man holding such a position is indeed saved. To put it another way, an unbelieving pastor is foreign to our thinking. This is exactly why this story made such a good illustration.
Breathed and Spoken
In order to focus on the point of this article, it is necessary to ask, why is the Word important? Psalms 19:7 provides a concise answer: "The law of Yahweh is perfect." When the Psalmist uses the word "law," what exactly is he referring to? "He means not merely the law of Moses but the doctrine of God, the whole run and rule of sacred Writ" (C.H. Spurgeon, Psalms Volume 1).
The Scriptures, His Law, His commandments, His Word, whatever term is used, all of it is from Yahweh and is spoken by Him. "I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth" (Job 23:12). The Bible is to be understood as a whole and as complete, and is therefore of the utmost importance.
The Word as Judge
God the Holy Spirit uses the Law/Word as a tool, if you will, that is capable of piercing the heart of man. Nothing else can do this. The Word is living, active and sharp. The edge of the Word is so sharp it is able to slice deep to the very division of "soul and spirit" of a man. Clearly the Word has great capability, but what does it do?
It brings judgement. The Word will "judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." The Word exposes the heart, "all things are uncovered and laid bare" (Hebrews 4:12-13).
From these verses, we are provided with why the Word is essential. Within all of creation, in this regard, the Word is unique. The Word judges the right and wrongs of man.
Must Be Trusted
Outward appearances of an individual may mislead us; however, the Holy Spirit working through the Word has no such disadvantage. Our duty then, is to apply the Word indiscriminately. This begins with trust. The Bible we hold in our hands may seem to our eyes to be mere words on a printed page or ordinary words we speak, when they are in fact "living" — God breathed (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16). This is the tool the Holy Spirit uses.
By faith then, we believe Yahweh when He says, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what pleases Me, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). Therefore, we use the Word and trust that the Word will accomplish exactly what God intends. Our duty is to put it out there, build on it and apply it.
Pointing back to the salvation story, it was the Word that convicted, condemned and brough about repentance and salvation. Nothing else played a role. The Word "succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
Tighten The Focus
In light of the above groundwork, let's cut to the chase. Many, if not most evangelicals, when asked, would not consider Romans 7:7 as part of the Gospel. I think more than a few of us have fallen into that thinking at some point. We were told from earliest memory that the Gospel is the good news of Jesus who came into the world, sacrificed himself on the cross for sin, rose from the dead to life and those who believe in Him will have eternal life -- or something like that. And, that is the Gospel.
I want to argue for a whole Gospel. One Bible dictionary defines gospel as: "A word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning "God's spell", i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, "good spell", i.e., good news." The entire Bible is God-breathed, every word came from "His lips." Meaning all of it is inspired, every word is absolute truth. My point is that all of God's Word then is good news. Therefore, the Bible is the Gospel. How do I come to that conclusion?
Notwithstanding what was written above, when we look at the Bible as a whole, it tells a story. The primary character in this story is the Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Included within that storyline is what's been referred to as "the scarlet thread running through the Bible" -- the story of what God did to redeem fallen man.
This story is much about God's providential mercy and grace that saves men. In other words, all of it, the whole Bible is good news. How can it be anything other than good news? We then should not truncate it since it is relevant to everyone in all circumstances.
In other words, every part of the Bible is useful for evangelizing, and not just a select few verses. So that is my general presupposition.
However, for the purpose of this article I want to narrow this down to why Romans 7:7 was important and necessary regarding the final outcome of the story/illustration in the preceding article?
No Shortcuts
"The Gospel is a complete scheme or law of gracious salvation, presenting to the needy sinner everything that his terrible necessities can possibly demand" (Spurgeon).
A half Gospel is no gospel. Sinful people are called to repent and commanded to take action. To provide a simple definition, to repent means to turn from in order to turn to. For this to occur, the person must understand why they are to turn. And we must understand what that turning looks like.
To help us here, Dr. Joel Beeke writes, "Jesus calls all sinners to repent. True repentance is not a nebulous response of sorrow; it requires definite actions. Repentance so transforms the mind that it results in a changed life. Repentance does not merely say "I'm sorry" (similar to what we say when we accidentally step on someone’s foot). Rather, true repentance says from the heart, 'I've been wrong and grieve over my sin, but now I see the truth, and I will change my ways accordingly'" (Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation - Joel R. Beeke and William Boekestein).
What we saw in the young man's real-life story included the marks of actual turning. What preceded and prompted this turning? Was it not a Romans 7:7 moment? Yes! The Holy Spirit via the Law produced conflict. This is the Law clashing with one's self-righteousness — and this will naturally involve pain.
Nevertheless, it is a necessity. Again, from the story, as the Law began to bear down with a crushing weight, it caused pain, grief, and then sorrow — all brought on by specific knowledge of the sin committed.
In order for a sinner to come to repentance, we must understand that a clear understanding of sin is required. There can be no corner cutting. Sin must be spelled out in plain terms.
Super Pharisee
Consider the Pharisee of Pharisees. He too was born into a religious family, was educated, self-confident, full of self-righteousness and proud of his accomplishments. Listen as he describes himself: "If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless" (Philippians 3:4-6).
An impressive resumé. But what was it that brought this young zealous man to repentance? Acts 22:7 provides the answer: "I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'" This man was confronted with his specific sin.
Did Jesus use whimsical illustrations or carefully nuance his words? No, He went straight to the issue. He addressed Paul's actual evil, leaving him with no doubt as to his sin.
Garden Confrontation
The day in the garden that descended into darkness, as the guilty sinners stood before Yahweh, was He seeking some nebulous response? The question went directly to the evil, "Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (Genesis 3:11). Here we see that the man and his wife were trapped. It was a direct confrontation regarding their rebellion. The question was intended to show exactly what constituted their sin.
Scripture is replete with examples. It truly is unavoidable. When various characters in the Bible are confronted with their sin, there was no mincing of words. Sin was clearly spelled out.
Two of Seven
To tell people what they need to hear requires courage. Irish pastor Jamie Bambrick writes: "If we tell people that Jesus died to save them from their sins, the big question that follows is: "What sins do you mean? And are you saying I’ve committed them?" But it’s at precisely this point that most preachers manifest two of the seven dwarves, Dopey and Bashful, and get all shy, vague and nuanced" (Gospel Preaching They Can't Ignore - Clear Truth Media, August 8, 2024).
Is there anything vague or nuanced regarding Romans 7:7? "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COVET'"
To "know sin" requires the Law. Properly applied, is using the Law to confront sin sinful? Of course not! However, some would have you think so. The Law is good. Sin therefore, must be exposed by the Law. The absence of Law can only lead to destruction not to salvation.
How Specific?
Time and time again Ray Comfort of Living Waters asks people in his videos, if he or she thinks they are a good person. The answer is a predictable yes. There may be a caveat at times, "I am not perfect, I've made a few mistakes but I'm really a good person." What Mr. Comfort does next is go right to the specifics of sin, pointedly so.
When addressing evil, merely referring sin in a general sense is not enough. What is required is using the language such as found in Romans 1:26-32. Here is a partial list:
Wickedness
Greed
Envy
Murder
Strife
Deceit
Malice
Gossip
Slander
Violent
Arrogant
Boastful
Disobedient to parents
Untrustworthy
Unloving
No one comes to the bottom side of this explicit list unscathed. Again, pastor Bambrick, "The difference between most modern-day ‘gospel’ preaching and the apostles’ was that theirs actually took some guts" (Gospel Preaching).
Too Negative?
Here is the rub. It is at this very point where our fear of man is revealed, along with our distrust of God's Word. So what do we do? We replace the "living and active" Word, that is "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" with our worthless words that do not save anyone.
Listen again to Paul: "It was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful" (Romans 7:13). He is saying that the Law is good because it shows him just how "utterly sinful" he actually is.
Consider what Paul wrote to a young pastor: "We know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious" (1 Timothy 1:8-9).
Ersatz
Our world today, with its faux positivity, wants us to think there is a better way and that such negativity must be avoided. Was Paul being too negative? Could he not be kinder and gentler? Should he not be more temperate in his approach or tone? Must he not consider the person's feelings? After all, he wants them to listen to what he has to say about Jesus, doesn't he?
I don't think Paul ever forgot Christ's confrontation. From that moment he understood that through the commandment, which is the Law, he was made to face a fact. The fact of just how bad his sin was. The Law opened before his eyes the ugliness of his sin.
There is no such thing as a "kinder gentler Law" or a positive means to address the sin that damns a person. Apart from an understanding of ugly sin, the work and accomplishments of Jesus Christ are meaningless. They will not want, nor recognize the need or grasp the wonder of the Savor's saving grace.
Empty Cry
Generalizations will not do. Padding the truth of sin in order to avoid causing pain is simply contrary to God's Word. We should want people to experience a heartfelt sorrow, an earnest cry from destitution with broken humility. Why? Because, just like there is the wrong kind of sorrow, there is an empty cry for help.
The words of Job 35:12-13 are chilling: "They cry out, but He does not answer Because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to an empty cry, Nor will the Almighty perceive it." Such a calling out is motivated by selfishness. They are not interested in turning from a sinful life, they just want their circumstances to improve so they can be comfortable.
Our message should be that of a whole Bible. It is to be pointed and directed specifically to each person's actual need. This is what produces Godly sorrow, the cry that God hears. "In my distress I called upon Yahweh ... and my cry for help came into His ears" (2 Samuel 22:7). This is what we should want!
Do not attempts to soften the blow of sin come from someone who does not understand the Biblical definition of love? Can this also be the product of a deficient understanding of the evilness of sin as well? The Law from the day of Moses was and is to this day, intended to drive a person to Jesus Christ.
One Solution
The solution to sin is the same whether we are evangelizing an unbeliever, helping a child out of sin or administering church discipline, and even addressing our own sin. From the garden to the present, the solution is unchanged. It necessitates the unvarnished truth about sin as the means to repentance. It is only on the heels of repentance where forgiveness is found.
Is not our goal restoration? Loving your neighbor does not withhold Truth (cf. Romans 12:9). In fact, love "rejoices in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Even when such love is unpopular and difficult. It will embrace Romans 7:7, "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law." This is essential to 2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation." This is how you love your neighbor and this "love is the fulfillment of the Law" (Romans 13:9).
Therefore, Roman's 7:7 is good news! It is the trailhead leading to hope, eternal life and freedom. This is the Gospel!
So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7:12
